The race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is now in full gear coming off last weekend's NHL all-star break. There are a few top teams that have not only separated themselves from the pack by their play on the ice, but by providing a profitable return for anyone who has consistently wagered on their games.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer With Free Picks.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a tough team to figure out - the toughest in the NHL season right now. When they are good they are very good, and no team has more talent. They have been hit hard by injuries, though, and it has had a real impact on their play, and especially on their consistency.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: The Inconsistent Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 2011-12 NHL regular season has passed the halfway point and the battle for position in each of the conferences rages on. A few teams have been able to separate themselves from the pack through not only their play on the ice, but as a proven money maker when it comes to wagering on the games.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer With Free Picks.

It has not been a good year to be an NHL head coach - at least not if you value job security. It's only early January, and the season is only half over, yet seven head coaches have been fired so far since the season started. In a 30-team league that's more than 23 percent of all positions. As crazy as that seems it could get worse - a quick look at the league brings up at least five other coaches who shouldn't be too comfortable in their seats.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Gambling Effect of Fired Coaches.

The NHL regular season presses on as the top teams in the league continue to jockey for position in their respective conference. A few teams have separated themselves from the pack as proven money makers while a few others continue to be major drains on the bankroll.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer With Free Picks.

The NHL enters the fourth month of an 82-game regular season marathon to the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With more than enough statistical information to assess all 30 teams, we have a clear picture of how each has performed on the ice as well as what kind of return they have provided against the puck line and on the money line.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer With Free Picks.

As the calendar turns another year we are - give or take - halfway through the long NHL regular season. As I sit here watching the always-brilliant annual outdoor game it is a great time to look at the biggest surprises and disappointments of the season so far:
Read more about NHL Handicapping Surprises and Disappointments.

As December comes to a close, the NHL is now three months into its 82-game marathon to the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We now have more than enough statistical information to assess each team's performance in terms of not only how they have done on the ice, but what kind of return they have provided against the puck line and on the money line.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer With Free Picks.

NHL Handicapping: The Winnipeg Jets by Trevor Whenham - 12/28/2011

It will go down as a wild and crazy year in the history of the Winnipeg Jets. The team originally left Winnipeg for Phoenix in 1996, and a lot of fans probably felt like they would never come back. Come back they did, though, when the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers was announced on May 31.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: The Winnipeg Jets.

All 30 teams in the NHL have played well over 30 games of an 82-game NHL schedule as the regular season grinds on with the start of winter. This amount of games provides more than enough statistical information to not only assess each team's performance on the ice, but their performance against the puck line and return on the money line. While most of the teams fall somewhere in the middle of the pack in both categories, a few teams have separated themselves at the top and bottom of the list.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer With Free Picks.

NHL Handicapping: Concussions by Trevor Whenham - 12/22/2011

The NHL has a serious headache right now. Concussions have always been a problem is the sport, but they have been a particular issue this year. The list of players out of action with concussions would be a heck of an all-star team. Sidney Crosby, the best player on the planet, missed much of last year, returned with a bang this year, but is out again as the symptoms have returned.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Concussions.

With over one third of the games of the 2011-12 NHL schedule already in the books, we now have enough information on all 30 teams to provide an excellent picture of which ones are the lead dogs in the race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This hockey betting guide takes into consideration not only a team's recent performance on the ice, but their performance in terms of their overall record against the puck line and return on the money line.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer With Free Picks.

It has not been a good year to be a head coach in the NHL - not if you like having a job, at least. We are only about 30 games into the new season, yet the firing of Terry Murray by the L.A. Kings brings the total of turfed coaches to five this year already. That's a sixth of the teams in the league that have made a change, and it's not even Christmas yet.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Coaches on the Hot Seat.

December marks the start of the meat of the 2011-12 NHL schedule. All 30 teams have enough games in the books by now to provide an excellent picture of which ones are the lead dogs in the 82-game marathon to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer.

The 2011-12 NHL schedule enters its third month and while the majority of the 30 teams continue to jockey for position in the marathon race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a few teams have been able to separate themselves from the pack with not only their play on the ice, but also in terms of their return on the money line and overall record against the puck line.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer.

As we reach the quarter pole of the 2011-12 NHL schedule, a good portion of the 30 teams find themselves in the middle-of-the-pack in their respective conference standings. However, a few teams have been able to separate themselves from the pack with not only strong play on the ice, but also in terms of performance against the puck line, the money line, and the total line.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer.

After six weeks of games in the 2011-12 NHL schedule, the majority of the 30 teams are currently somewhere in the middle-of-the-pack in their respective conference standings. However, there are a few teams that have already separated themselves not just with their play on the ice, but against the puck line, the money line, and the total line.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer.

The Edmonton Oilers are the biggest surprise of the young NHL season. After years of futility that made them the doormats of the Western Conference they are leading the Northwest Division, and are within two points of the best record in the whole league.
Read more about Edmonton Oilers NHL Handicapping.

While the majority of the 30 teams in the NHL are currently in the middle-of-the-pack in the standings, there are a few teams that have already separated themselves not just with their play on the ice but against the puck line, the money line, and the total line. The following is a look at who is hot and who is not along with a couple of picks for Friday night's games.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer.

The NHL 2011-12 regular season is a little more than a month old. While most of the 30 teams in the league are stuck in the middle-of-the-pack, there are a few teams jumping out to an early lead and a few that are already fading to the rear of the field.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer.

The NHL 2011-12 regular season is only about eight or nine games into each team's 82-game NHL schedule, but there are already some solid betting trends that are starting to emerge. The following is a look at who is hot and who is not along with a couple of picks for Friday night's games.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Weekend Hockey Betting Primer.

Top 10 Reasons to Bet on NHL Hockey by Doc's Sports - 10/6/2011

The 2011-12 NHL season is finally underway, and that means that there will opportunities to start making money every day on the ice. While the popularity of hockey in the United States will probably never approach that of football, baseball or basketball, that doesn't mean that you can't cash in on it. In fact, there's a good chance that you'll see much better results if you do decide to dive into hockey this season (see below). Here are the top 10 reasons that you should be betting on hockey this year:
Read more about Top 10 Reasons to Bet on NHL Hockey.

Two years ago the Habs made a truly shocking run in the playoffs, making it to the Eastern Conference Final and nearly all the way to the Cup. It was as impressive as it was unexpected. A deep run that comes out of the blue like that can have two different potential effects on a team. Some teams use it as a rallying point and build on it the next year and beyond. Others play the next year with a hangover they can't shake that drags them down like an anchor around their necks. Montreal definitely fit into the latter group last year.
Read more about Montreal Canadiens Predictions.

The Senators had their fewest points last year since 1996 - their fourth year in the league. Sadly, it looks like the record could be short standing this time because it is not hard to imagine this team being even worse than last year.
Read more about Ottawa Senators Predictions.

The San Jose Sharks have been a pretty darned good team. They have won the Pacific Division four years in a row, and have been first six times and second twice in the last nine seasons. In 2009 they won the President's Trophy for the best regular season record. Their problem, though, is that they are the definition of under-performance once the playoffs get rolling.
Read more about San Jose Sharks Predictions.

When last we checked in with the Canucks they had collapsed in the Stanley Cup finals in humiliating fashion, and their fans celebrated by trying to burn the city to the ground. It was not a proud moment in the history of the franchise.
Read more about Vancouver Canucks Predictions.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the most inexcusably bad team in the NHL. Perhaps in all of sports. They haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967 or even played in it, and they have only rarely been competitive since then - they have won their division just once since 1963, and haven't made the playoffs in six years.
Read more about Toronto Maple Leafs Predictions.

If you have ever met a Winnipeger - and they are everywhere because it seems like everyone leaves the city when they are old enough to do so - you have heard about the Jets. A Winnipeg native is incapable of speaking for more than two minutes without mentioning the Jets. It's a law.
Read more about Winnipeg Jets Predictions.

With the puck to drop on the new NHL season starting Thursday night, let's look at the three main awards that go to players who find the net most often. After all, you can't win if you don't score (although a good goalie is probably the most valuable commodity on any team). And I will preface this story by saying that if you don't follow hockey, you may want to start because it's looking more likely on each passing day that the NBA might not have a season. So the NHL (and college basketball) might have to satisfy your betting jones once football ends.
Read more about NHL Props and Predictions: Scoring Award Winners.

GM Joe Nieuwendyk is quite possibly my favorite NHL player of all time. He had a dynamite scoring touch, and he never played at less than full intensity. He has real promise as an executive as well, but he has been handed a rough deck to deal with here.
Read more about Dallas Stars Predictions.

The Coyotes are the team that no one wants to own. They declared bankruptcy more than two years ago, and the NHL, which has owned the team since the financial mess erupted, can't seem to find a deal that works out for new ownership. They play in a nice enough building, and the product on the ice has been solid, but they haven't captured the imagination of the market.
Read more about Phoenix Coyotes Predictions.

The Florida Panthers have been wandering in a hockey wasteland for years now. They haven't made the playoffs since 2000, and given the way the organization has been run they have got pretty much exactly what they have deserved over that time. It has been ugly.
Read more about Florida Panthers Predictions.

If you can remember a time when the Red Wings were not consistently one of the elite teams in the league then I have bad news for you - you are getting old. There was a time that they were, at best, an average team, but that was a while ago. They have made the playoffs 20 years in a row, they have won the Cup four times since 1997, they won their division nine of the last 10 years, and they are always an incredibly tough team to play against.
Read more about Detroit Red Wings Predictions.

The last two years the Kings have a popular pick to make a breakthrough and become a top-level contender in the Western Conference. Both years they have shown flashes of brilliance. In the playoffs both times, though, they have been very disappointing. Apparently two straight first-round departures was one too many for the management here because they had a very aggressive offseason.
Read more about Los Angeles Kings Predictions.

The Edmonton Oilers have the most impressive group of up-and-coming talent in the NHL right now. The Colorado Avalanche are a close second on that count. Some very good drafting and some better luck have meant that they have more youngsters than they know what to do with. It's a good kind of problem to have.
Read more about Colorado Avalanche Predictions.

When I think of the Hurricanes last year I think of one thing. After winning eight of 10 games they controlled their playoff fate heading into the last game of the season - one win and they were in the playoffs. They were at home, and all they had to do was beat Tampa Bay - a team that had nothing to play for and was only interested in being fresh and ready for the playoffs.
Read more about Carolina Hurricanes Predictions.

2012 NHL Stanley Cup Predictions by Doc's Sports - 9/29/2011

It's that time of the year as the NHL season is upon us once again. On Thursday, Oct. 6, the puck will drop in Toronto for the 2011-12 season opener between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hockey fans across the United States and Canada have hope that this could be the year for their team, and that Lord Stanley's Cup could be hoisted in their arena come next summer.
Read more about NHL Stanley Cup Predictions.

The St. Louis Blues are practically an invisible franchise. They aren't bad enough to pity, but they aren't good enough to take notice of, either. They have made the playoffs just once in the last six years, and though they have looked at times like they may have turned a corner they consistently return to mediocrity and, essentially, irrelevance.
Read more about St. Louis Blues Predictions.

I'll say it up front -- I think that the Capitals are the best team in the NHL right now. That's a dangerous position to hold given how good this team has been at finding ways to underwhelm in the playoffs. It's also a concern that the team's offensive productivity fell last year pretty much across the board as they focused more on defense.
Read more about Washington Capitals Predictions.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was wrong with this team last year -- they couldn't score. They scored more than one goal per game fewer than the best teams in the league, and nearly a quarter of a goal per game worse than the second worst team. There are reasons to believe that they will be more productive this year, but they need to be a lot better to fully put last year behind them.
Read more about New Jersey Devils Predictions.

Steve Yzerman was a heck of a player, and early returns are that he is an even better general manager. Two years ago this team was terrible - 12th of the 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. Then Yzerman took over, made a few changes, and that changed the attitude of the team dramatically.
Read more about Tampa Bay Lightning Predictions.

How is Sidney Crosby's head? That's what this season really comes down to for the Penguins. If the best player in hockey can return to action, feel no lasting effects from his concussion issues, and return to form then this team is no worse than the second best team in the league. If he misses another big chunk of time, though, or he isn't the player he was before he was hurt then this is just another pretty solid team that could be a playoff threat if everything goes their way.
Read more about Pittsburgh Penguins Predictions.

Is this the future? That might sound like a cheesy line from some bad science fiction movie. But really, it's the defining question of the Oilers this season. There is absolutely no doubt that the future is bright for this team.
Read more about Edmonton Oilers Predictions.

The Calgary Flames are a tough team to understand. For more than the first half of last season they were a lousy team. Really lousy. For the final third of the season they played very strong hockey -- almost enough to play them back into playoff contention.
Read more about Calgary Flames Predictions.

In every dictionary in the world from now on there should be a picture of the Flyers' logo beside the word 'overreaction'. The team perceived that they had an issue with young superstars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. They were both very talented players that were producing on the ice, but there were rumors of issues in the locker room and with the way the two guys carried themselves off the ice and out in the community.
Read more about Philadelphia Flyers Predictions.

Defending a title is very hard. Two years ago the Blackhawks were impressively dominant en route to hoisting the nicest trophy in all of sports. Last year they sputtered all season, and barely managed to grab the last spot in the playoffs. They gave Vancouver a tough fight once they did make the playoffs, but ultimately they just couldn't overcome the problems that had plagued them all year.
Read more about Chicago Blackhawks Predictions.

A deep-pocketed, passionate, competent owner can make a world of difference for a team. Just ask the Dallas Mavericks. Or the Los Angeles Angels. Or the New England Patriots. It's too early to know for sure, but it appears as if the Sabres have hit the motherlode and could join that list.
Read more about Buffalo Sabres Predictions.

A team can't win a trophy for being aggressive in the offseason, but if they could then the Blue Jackets would win in a landslide. The team cut nine players loose -- including several vets who haven't been good enough for too long -- and was very aggressive in acquiring new blood.
Read more about Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions.

The best player the Predators have - by a wide margin - is defenseman Shea Weber. Losing him would be a huge blow to this team in more ways than one. It took arbitration this summer, but he's signed - to the highest contract ever awarded in arbitration, no less - and the team can now focus on the task at hand.
Read more about Nashville Predators Predictions.

There was one prize coveted far beyond all others on the free agent market -- Brad Richards. After an extended fight that featured pretty much every team in the league at one point or another, it was the Rangers that came out on top.
Read more about New York Rangers Predictions.

The Ducks are coming off a pretty good regular season -- they earned home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and Corey Perry won the Hart Trophy. Unfortunately, that was all wasted when they didn't prove to be much of a match for Nashville in the first round of the playoffs.
Read more about Anaheim Ducks Predictions.

The last time we saw the Bruins play they were causing the citizens of Vancouver to burn their city to the ground. Now for the first time since 1972 they enter the season as the defending champions, and they'll wear a target on their backs as a result. Last year obviously couldn't have gone better, and their core is largely intact to start this year, so there is no reason to think that they won't be an elite contender again this year.
Read more about Boston Bruins Predictions.

If you remember when the Islanders used to be one of the great teams in the NHL then, sadly, you are getting old. For far too long this once great franchise has played uninspired hockey in a truly horrible barn of an arena. For the first time in literally decades, though, there is reason for hope on Long Island.
Read more about New York Islanders Predictions.

The Wild have never really done anything of note since joining the league. They have made the playoffs only three times in their history, and not in the last three years. They just haven't shown progress as a franchise, and that is getting increasingly frustrating for the rabid fans in Minnesota.
Read more about Minnesota Wild Predictions.

The NHL Storylines That Will Affect Betting This Season by Trevor Whenham - 9/12/2011

It seems hard to believe because the weather is still so good in traditional hockey markets, but the NHL season is now just around the corner. Training camps are underway for a lot of teams -- though it's mostly only rookies who are on the ice so far. By early next week teams will be playing NHL Preseason games, and before we know it the regular season starts. As we get ready for the start of another long and hopefully exciting season, let's take a look at six storylines that will be of interest for bettors throughout the year:
Read more about The NHL Storylines That Will Affect Betting This Season.

You have to love the sportsbooks. The Bruins are probably still drinking celebratory hooch out of the Stanley Cup, and already the odds for the 2012 Stanley Cup champions are out. And how ironic is it that the one league that shut down for an entire season, the NHL, has the most labor peace going. Thus, unlike the NBA or NFL, you should have a good idea what teams will look like next season.
Read more about NHL Stanley Cup Futures Odds and Predictions.

Stanley Cup Finals Odds: Game 7 Preview by Trevor Whenham - 6/15/2011

The strangest Stanley Cup finals we have seen in a long, long time is one game away from resolution. It's not just the fact that the home team has won all six games that has made it interesting. It's how Vancouver has looked like two entirely different teams. When they have been playing at home they have been tough, defensively minded, and focused. In Boston, though, they have played three games that are quite possibly the three worst games any team has played in the playoffs all year. Add to that the fact that the series has been brutally physical, and that players have taken to diving at every opportunity to try to draw a penalty, and you have a true spectacle. I'm not sure it has been a classic, but it has certainly been entertaining.
Read more about Stanley Cup Finals Odds: Game 7 Preview.

The Stanley Cup Finals certainly got interesting on Monday night as the Boston Bruins clobbered the Vancouver Canucks, 8-1, in the most lopsided Finals game in 15 years. Now we have a series. But the game featured plenty of chippiness on both sides (as well as some Boston taunting) that seems a lock to carry over to Game 4 and beyond in the wake of the crushing blindside hit that Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome laid on Boston's Nathan Horton early in Game 3.
Read more about NHL Picks: Canucks at Bruins Game 4.

Well, so far so good on our Stanley Cup Finals prediction as I recommended taking Vancouver in Game 1. Unfortunately both Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas were brilliant in net so the 'over' 5.5 goals didn't pan out in the Canucks' 1-0 victory. If you had scrapper Raffi Torres scoring the game-winning goal (with 18.5 seconds left) in your Stanley Cup pool, then you know more about hockey than I do.
Read more about NHL Odds: Boston Bruins at Vancouver Canucks Game 2.

One lengthy drought is going to end in the Stanley Cup Finals between Boston and Vancouver that begins on Wednesday night in British Columbia: Either the Bruins are going to hoist their first Cup since 1972 or the Canucks are going to win their first-ever and bring Lord Stanley's chalice back to Canada for that country's first title since the Montreal Canadiens won it in 1993. Either way, it has been quite a year-and-a-half or so for the hockey-mad folks in Vancouver, who got to watch Canada win Olympic gold there in hockey last year thanks in large part to Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.
Read more about NHL Stanley Cup Predictions: Bruins at Canucks Game 1.

There's nothing more exciting, I would argue, than a Game 7 in the NHL playoffs. It's just that they don't seem to happen very often in the conference finals. Friday night's Tampa Bay at Boston Game 7 for the right to face Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Finals is just the fifth conference final Game 7 since 2000 and first since 2006. By the way, the previous four winners of conference final Game 7s went onto win the Cup, including the Bolts in 2004 for the franchise's only title. The Bruins are seeking their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 21 years; they haven't won one in 39 years.
Read more about NHL Picks: Lightning at Bruins Game 7.

NHL Handicapping: Hot and Cold Report by Nicholas Tolomeo - 5/13/2011

Totals in these NHL playoffs have been extremely streaky. Every game in the first round seemed to stay 'under,' and then there was a stretch of 10 consecutive games going 'over' or pushing. That trend has given way to a run of 'unders' where three consecutive games have stayed below the posted total, including San Jose's Game 7 clincher against Detroit. Expect the 'under' trend to continue in the NHL Conference Finals.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Hot and Cold Report.

By the time the Lightning and the Bruins start their series in Boston on Saturday night they may have forgotten how to skate. This has to be one of the longest breaks between series for two teams we have ever seen. Boston beat Philadelphia in four games last Friday, and it was Wednesday when Tampa Bay put the last nail in Washington's coffin. That means that both teams have had more than a week to get ready for their next opponent - and to lose whatever edge made them so incredibly good in their last series.
Read more about NHL Picks: Lightning vs. Bruins.

For some ridiculous reason, there is only one NHL or NBA playoff game on Thursday night and I don't think it has anything to do with Cinco de Mayo. The NBA, frankly, should be ashamed of itself for going dark for a night. With that said, we preview your lone playoff betting option on Thursday, Game 4 of the NHL Western Conference semifinals: Vancouver at Nashville.
Read more about NHL Picks: Canucks at Predators Game 4.

Think the Boston Bruins want to dish out a little payback to the Philadelphia Flyers in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that begins Saturday? I'm sure you remember what happened when these two met in the same round of the playoffs last season. The Bruins built a 3-0 series lead before allowing the Flyers to tie the series at three. In Game 7, Boston went up 3-0 in the first period, but Philly still rallied back to win. The B's became just the third NHL team to blow a 3-0 series lead and lose that series.
Read more about NHL Picks: Bruins vs. Flyers Series Odds.

The back-and-forth first round Eastern Conference playoff best-of-seven series between the Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers will now be decided in a winner-take-all Game 7 on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Game time is set for 7 p.m. (EST) and it will be broadcast on VERSUS.
Read more about NHL Picks: Flyers at Sabres Game 7.

The Philadelphia Flyers were able to recapture home-ice advantage with their 4-2 victory over Buffalo on Monday night as a +107 road underdog. The win gave them a 2-1 edge in this first round best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night at the HSBC Center in Buffalo.
Read more about Hockey Picks: Flyers at Sabres.

All of the teams in this week's NHL Hot and Cold Report are heading to the postseason, but in the NHL where more teams make the playoffs (16) than not (14), still playing hockey at this juncture of the season is by no means a sign that you are a hot team.
Read more about NHL Betting Trends.

The Vancouver Canucks have had a torturous franchise history. Since coming into the NHL in 1970, they've been to the Stanley Cup finals twice, in 1982 and 1994, and those have been the two big highlights. Which is rather sad, since they lost on both occasions.
Read more about NHL Playoff Odds.

NHL Playoff Predictions by Trevor Whenham - 4/13/2011

Home ice advantage hasn't offered much of an advantage lately -- last year the home team won just one more than half of the 15 series. In the East, in particular, I don't think it's going to be a big advantage this year, either. There isn't a top four team that makes me think that they can't possibly lose the first round, and there isn't a bottom four seed in the conference that I don't think could win a series or two.
Read more about NHL Playoff Predictions.

The Canucks are the team to beat this year. Of course, the Blackhawks are the reigning Stanley Cup champions. And these teams generally don't seem to like each other. It almost feels like Chicago gets into the head of the Vancouver players, especially stud goalie Roberto Luongo. He has been shaky in losing both six-game postseason series the past two years to the Blackhawks (combined .888 save percentage).
Read more about NHL Picks: Canucks vs. Blackhawks.

Last season the Philadelphia Flyers needed an overtime victory over the New York Rangers in the final regular season game just to make the playoffs. They then proceeded to go on an incredible run that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals where they eventually lost to Chicago in six games. This season the Flyers spent most of the season atop the Eastern Conference, but slipped to the No.2 seed in the playoffs after finishing with a 3-4-3 record down the stretch.
Read more about NHL Picks: Flyers vs. Sabres.

The first round of the NHL Playoffs is typically top heavy -- the higher seeds win, though not nearly to the extent that that is the case in the NBA. There always seems to be an upset or two by a team without the home ice advantage, though. As we get ready for the start of another grueling playoff season in the NHL -- the hardest playoffs to win of any in any sport, by the way -- here's a look at my NHL Playoff predictions for three lower seeds that have the potential to pull off a surprise and last for more than one series.
Read more about NHL Playoff Predictions.

The Flyers are close to sewing up home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, but they are still struggling in terms of winning in regulation and winning by more than a goal. In the Flyers last 17 games they have been favored 14 times, meaning on the puck line they were -1.5. In those games Philadelphia is a staggering 2-14 on the puckline.
Read more about NHL Betting Trends.

We're into the stretch drive of the NHL regular season. Teams that have playoff positions secured are looking to get into postseason form, and those that want a spot but don't have one secured yet are either desperately fighting for one, or wilting under the pressure. This time before the playoffs start, when casual hockey bettors start to pay more attention to the sport, is a good time to take another look at Stanley Cup futures to see if we can find any NHL predictions worth betting on (odds are from BetUS):
Read more about NHL Predictions: Stanley Cup Futures Odds.

NHL Betting: Hockey Totals Trends by Dave Schwab - 3/24/2011

The NHL regular season is winding down as teams continue to jockey for position for the upcoming playoffs. While the majority of people that regularly wager on hockey tend to focus their NHL handicapping efforts on the money line, there is plenty of value to be mined from the total line if you take the time to analyze the numbers.
Read more about NHL Betting: Hockey Totals Trends.

NHL Handicapping: Tight Playoff Races by Trevor Whenham - 3/11/2011

The NHL playoff races are very intense right now. The East is a typical race, but the West can really only be called insane. As I write this there are eight teams within four points of each other, and room for only five of them in the playoffs. There are going to be three very disappointed teams once the dust settles. That settling of the dust is as many as 15 games away for some of the teams in the battle, so there is a lot left to do.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Tight Playoff Races.

Dallas has a strong recent record against Detroit, winning seven of the last eight. But the goals have dried up completely for one of the star - sorry - teams before the All-Star break. Dallas is being outscored by worse than two to one in recent games and the Stars' inability score on power plays just how much they're struggling to find the net.
Read more about NHL Hockey Picks For Thursday.

NHL Hot And Cold Lists by Nicholas Tolomeo - 2/23/2011

Plenty of teams are heating up and cooling down on the ice as we head toward the NHL Trade Deadline. That date - Feb. 28 this year - will really separate who's who and what's what in pro hockey but how teams are playing leading up to the deadline could have a big impact as far as which teams make moves and which teams stand pat.
Read more about NHL Predictions.

If you are an American hockey fan and have never watched or followed Canadian coverage of the NHL trade deadline then you really need to. It's a spectacle. We take this day really seriously up here - thing NFL draft day in the States. There is wall-to-wall coverage all day, and six million people dissect every move. It's all frankly ridiculous, but also kind of fun. Beyond being a spectacle, though, the NHL trade deadline - which is typically by far the busiest of any trade deadline in major sports - can be very helpful for bettors because of the insights it offers.
Read more about NHL Trade Deadline Predictions.

Injuries and player absences are a frustrating but inevitable part of hockey. In the case of the Pittsburgh Penguins, though, things are totally out of hand. The last time Pittsburgh played a game they were missing eight forwards that played on opening night. Given that a team only has 12 active forwards at a time, that's obviously a significant impact. Never mind that one of those forwards, Sidney Crosby, is the best hockey player on the planet, and another, Evgeni Malkin, is easily in the top t10 in the world. Or that in the absence of those guys, one of the guys who would be asked to carry an extra load, Chris Kunitz, is out as well.
Read more about NHL Handicapping: Pittsburgh Penguins Struggles.

NHL Stanley Cup Predictions by Trevor Whenham - 2/10/2011

We're about 60 percent of the way through the NHL season. This is where things get really interesting. Now every game matters more than the one before it as teams fight for playoff spots and seeding. There is some competition in the Eastern Conference for spots, but nothing like in the West, where the difference between third place and 14th in the 15-team conference in just 10 points. There are legitimately still 24 of the 30 teams in the league that can probably make the playoffs.
Read more about NHL Stanley Cup Predictions.

The Flames are finally starting to heat up, and not even the all-star break could cool them off. Calgary is 7-1-2 in its last 10 games, giving $100 bettors a total profit of $607 in just over two weeks. The profitable streak was highlighted by a 4-3 shootout win at Vancouver on Jan. 22 when the Flames were +220. Even after the three-day layoff due to the All-Star Game, the Flames opened the second half of the season with another win as a road underdog, winning 3-2 in a shootout at Nashville as +120 underdogs.
Read more about NHL Betting: Hot and Cold Teams.

Tips and Advice for Betting the NHL All-Star Game by Trevor Whenham - 1/28/2011

Sports bettors don't like uncertainty, and they really don't like betting on things that they haven't seen before -- there is no history to rely on to tell them what could happen. It's clear, then, that the NHL didn't plan their new format for the All-Star game with bettors in mind. Not only has this not been done in the NHL before, but it hasn't been done in any major sport. There's a good reason for that -- it's a ridiculous idea. If you've missed it, the league has chosen two captains -- Nicklas Lidstrom and Eric Staal -- and four assistant captains.
Read more about Tips and Advice for Betting the NHL All-Star Game.

NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft by Trevor Whenham - 1/26/2011

The NHL, in its ongoing battle for more than niche relevance, has decided that the thing to do is to radically overhaul the All-Star Game format. That would be bigger news than it is if the league had any loyalty to their old format in the first place. They have typically played Eastern Conference against Western, but they have also tried other experiments like North America versus the World in the past.
Read more about NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft.

As the NHL's regular season heads into its second half, the two Florida teams are on opposite ends of the standings in the Southeast Division. But are they really that far apart? We'll get a better idea Friday night when the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning head cross-state to skate with the last-place Florida Panthers at the Bank Atlantic Center in that hockey hotbed of Sunrise (7:30 p.m. EST).
Read more about NHL Picks: Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers.

Hockey Betting: NHL Studs and Duds by Trevor Whenham - 1/19/2011

We are just over half way through the NHL season. There is still a lot of hockey left to play, so this is a very good time to take stock of what has happened so far, and what that tells us about what could happen the rest of the way. Here are the four teams that have been kindest to bettors so far this season, and the four that have been totally disrespectful of bettor's money. Incidentally, just 11 of the 30 teams in the league have been profitable if you had bet on them for every game against the NHL odds, so it's far more common that a team disappoints than that they shine.
Read more about Hockey Betting: NHL Studs and Duds.

We are halfway through the NHL season. That means that it's a very good time to look at what we have seen so far, and where the value is in the Stanley Cup futures at this point. Here's a look at a few of the more interesting numbers for NHL futures along with some Stanley Cup predictions (NHL odds are from BetUS):
Read more about Stanley Cup Predictions and Odds: NHL Futures Betting.

Free Play from Doc's Sports.
Take #231 Minnesota Golden
Gophers +6.5 over Georgia
Tech Yellow Jackets
(5:15p.m., Wednesday,
December 26) The Paul Johnson
era will come to an end after
this game and I do not think
he will go out with a blowout
victory. Generally team can
fare well against the option
when they have a month to
prepare for it and that will
be the case with the Golden
Gophers. Minnesota is coming
off their best game of the
season last time out beating
Wisconsin and getting back
the ax for the first time in
well over a decade. Minnesota
has covered 5 straight
nonconference games. Georgia
Tech is 1-4 ATS in their last
5 nonconference games. Take
the points in this game. Do
not miss out on Doc's Sports
Weekend card featuring picks
in basketball, hockey, &
football. Bowl Game of the
Year is coming in late
December and now is the time
to jump on board and let Doc
close out this holiday season
with a bang.Read MoreRead Less

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